KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) has downplayed the use of Jawi script for Muslim names as suggested by the Federal Territories Mufti, saying that it was not a critical issue that should be discussed.
The group’s deputy president Aminuddin Yahaya told Malay Mail Online that the confusion over the meaning of Arabic names was only a case of misunderstanding and there were bigger things that should be looked at.
“This is not critical (to have Jawi names). Jawi should be empowered more than just names,” he said.
He said the empowerment of Jawi script should be done in a bigger context through teaching in schools, book writings, newspaper and billboards like in Kelantan and Terengganu.
“This is what we are fighting for, it’s not like there is a specific meaning of name in Jawi,’ he said.
Federal Territories Mufti Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad proposed for the National Registration Department to provide a special column for Muslim parents to write their child’s name in Jawi script, to prevent usage of names that have unpleasant meanings in Arabic.
He said Jawi spelling of the name will be considered the conclusive spelling to ascertain the meaning of certain names that have different meanings when spelt in the Roman script.
The Jawi script is used to spell Malay words using the Arabic alphabet. For example, the mufti pointed out that two distinct Arabic letters — alif and ‘ain — are both spelt with the Roman letter “A”
Pertubuhan Tarekat Muktabar Malaysia (Pertama) meanwhile held a different view, saying the suggestion had a lot of positive implications to Muslim families.
“Jawi is an intermediary script to Arabic. If you can read Jawi, then it would be easier for you to read Arabic, and it is part of the Malay identity. It shouldn’t have any confusion as Jawi can clear things up, it has positive implications,” secretary-general Sheikh Abdul Kareem Said Khadaied told Malay Mail Online.
He said it was important for children to have a good names, as it would be a reflection to their behaviour and help preserve the Jawi script.
“We are not talking about racial or Malay issues, we are talking about whether or not it is good for character building.
“There is a study done by an American university that relates names with characters, and in the UK, they did a research on the number of babies who are named after Muhammad, there are lots of them,” he said, referring to Prophet Muhammad.
“And the percentage of people with ‘Muhammad’ names, who have criminal records, is the lowest than other names,” he said.
Perkasa Islamic affairs bureau chairman Dr Amini Amir Abdullah also welcomed the suggestion, adding that Muslim parents should refer to the ‘ulama’ (Muslim scholars) when giving names to their children.
“It is a good move as it will avoid confusions in the meaning of a name.
“It can also empower Jawi script, if Muslim parents do not know Jawi, they can refer to those who have knowledge in Jawi script, I welcome the decision as it gives a lot of advantages to parents and children,” he said.
Zulkifli also suggested that religious teachers or officials from the federal religious authority provide advisory services to parents when choosing their children’s names.
Recently, Penang Mufti Datuk Dr Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor had been publicly criticised after warning Muslim parents against naming their children with words that purportedly have unpleasant meanings in Arabic.
Among the names Wan Salim had warned against was “Damia”, which he claimed means “source of blood flow”, but Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin was among those who suggested that the name might not even be Arabic.
Mohd Asri said the name “Damia” has many meanings in different cultures, and may refer to a place-name in Jordan, including a Greek word meaning “to tame” that becomes the root for other names such as Damian.
Despite that, the FT mufti suggested for parents to spell the name with an apostrophe as Damia’, to ensure that it has no negative meanings in Arabic.
He also warned parents against giving long names to their children, since people tend to use a shortened version of given names.
He suggested that parents consult religious teachers before choosing a name, and to not just pick a name from books.
